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Paola Giorello was 37 years old when she discovered a lump in her breast. She knew she had to see a doctor to get tested and diagnosed, but she didn’t have health insurance and wasn’t able to pay for these services all out-of-pocket. Giorello had no clue what to do – especially after the doctors she spoke with told her that she wasn’t able to get a mammogram until she turned 40.
“I couldn’t even get an appointment, even though I was telling them I had the lump," she recalled. "They kept saying, 'No, you cannot come here.'"
It took Giorello an entire year to find someone who was willing to provide her with the care she needed. The non-profit organization, Nueva Vida, was finally the people who took Giorello in and advocated for her to get the appointments and care she needed.
Finally, in February 2016, Giorello received a free mammogram, ultrasound, and breast biopsy. She received a call from her doctor at 8:30am the following morning.
Giorello was diagnosed with stage 2 invasive carcinoma.
"And after that, I don't really know what they said to me,” she confessed. Giorello felt overwhelmed, and admitted that she was immensely grateful that she had someone from Nueva Vida advocating on her behalf.
In March, Giorello underwent a lumpectomy procedure and later even had some of her lymph nodes removed as well. She will have to undergo 30 sessions of radiation therapy and continue treatment until 2026.
While Giorello’s battle against breast cancer is long from over, realizes that she is actually one of the fortunate ones, to be able to receive treatment.
"You don’t realize how many of us Hispanic women have it, until you have it," she explains. "And then you start talking with someone and they tell you, 'My daughter, my wife, my sister has breast cancer, too.'”
Many of Giorello’s friends are afraid to confirm with their doctor if they do have breast cancer, which Giorello cannot emphasize enough is the wrong approach. “’What happens if [the doctors] find something?' But that's the point,” Giorello insists. “You have to live for yourself and for your family. I have to fight for my daughter. If I don't do it, who's going to do it?"
